


Hope in a Lightless Place

by TheMajesticLauren



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Aqua Can See Hearts, Aqua has a talk with the Destiny Trio, Gen, Mickey Mouse (mentioned) - Freeform, Post-Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance, Post-Rescue from the Realm of Darkness, Sora's Heart Hotel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-26
Updated: 2018-05-26
Packaged: 2019-05-13 21:29:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14756645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMajesticLauren/pseuds/TheMajesticLauren
Summary: Aqua has been rescued from the Realm of Darkness by Mickey and Riku. She has some needed conversations with the Destiny Trio.





	Hope in a Lightless Place

She didn’t remember much, at first. Mickey had told her it was just the trauma, and that her memories would return soon. Her friend didn’t say that as if it was a positive thing.

She could remember a few things. Endless fighting. Terra and Ven being in the darkness with her, while also _not_ being in the darkness with her. She wasn’t quite sure on that memory, though. Time in the Realm of Darkness worked differently. 

She also remembered a beach with a dark sea that seemed endless. She remembered feeling hope on that beach. There had been a name on the tip of her tongue ever since she was rescued. She had laid in bed for hours, trying to recall this name that kept her light alive.

Her struggles were fruitless, until the boy that rescued her with Mickey came to visit.

She knew she had met him before. Not just once, but twice. She had known in her heart that the boy would grow up to be something special. 

Aqua didn’t know what made her start crying when the boy walked through the door. Whether it was from seeing someone else from her past or the strange essence of Terra she felt within him, it was enough to make Riku pause.

“Aqua?” He quietly asked. “Do you want me to get Mickey?” He wasn’t sure what to do to help. Sure, he had experience in being trapped in the darkness, but not in the same way Aqua had. He hadn’t been alone as long, either.

Aqua quickly wiped away her tears and took a deep breath. “No, no, it’s okay. Please, come sit with me.”

Riku walked over and took a seat across from Aqua, who was sitting on the side of the bed in a spare bedroom. They had let her rest and recover before sending any new faces in. Not that Riku was exactly a new face.

Aqua steeled herself before asking, “Do you remember me?” Bright teal green eyes met hers and for a second her breath caught. Yes, she was sure this was the same boy.

Riku looked to the side for a moment. “Do you mean in the Realm of Darkness? Or before then?”

Aqua smiled, slightly relieved her memories weren’t wrong. “Either, but I’m glad you’re okay. Thank the stars you made it out.”

Despite her words being genuine, Riku still felt guilty. “I’m sorry you didn’t get out with us. I… I hadn’t even known you were there until Mickey and the Master told me.”

“If you had known, would you have tried to rescue me despite the dangers it held?”

“Of course! You sacrificed yourself to save me, it’s only fair that I saved you in return.” Riku exclaimed, guilt taking over his anger. 

“But Riku,” she said while grabbing his hand. “you did save me. Sure, it might have taken a while, but you did it. _And_ no one got seriously hurt doing it. I can call that a win.”

Riku still looked upset; not that it was obvious under the mask he was putting on. She sat criss-cross and patted the spot next to her. “Come on, you can make it up to me by telling me what I missed.”

Riku smiled and moved next to her. “Do you want just the fun stuff or everything?”

Aqua stopped for a moment. She was a keyblade master, she didn’t have the right to ignore the world’s problems. At the same time though, no one would fault her for wanting one more day, right? “Why don’t we start with what’s most recently important to you.”

Aqua had never seen a smile so warm before. 

“Would you believe me if I told you I’m now a keyblade master?”

Aqua clasped her hands together in glee. “Congratulations! I knew you would grow up to be amazing” She said. “Will you tell me how your Mark of Mastery played out?”

Riku’s smile dropped a little and Aqua quickly tried to stop it, waving her hands. “Nevermind! You don’t need to explain if you don’t want to.”

Riku was grateful for her attempt to stop his worsening mood. “It’s alright. Just, some of us almost didn’t make it out.”

“Who else took the exam with you?” Aqua asked. In her heart she knew, she just needed to hear his name.

“You’ve met him before, when we were kids. His name is”

“Sora.” Aqua and Riku said at the same time. Riku looked to Aqua, ready to question how much she remembered when he saw her head in her hands. Aqua was hiding her face, but her body language didn’t look upset. She looked relieved. 

Aqua let out a shaky sigh and lifted her head, but didn’t move to wipe her watery eyes. “I have been _trying_ to remember his name ever since I got back. I was told stories about him in the darkness, by a man in a black coat.” Riku tensed but didn’t say anything. “I knew he was out there, changing the worlds, and that gave me hope in that lightless place.”

Riku smiled. “Yeah, he has a habit of doing that.” He grabbed her a tissue and held out his hand. “Would you like to meet him again?”

She gripped his hand in response.

 

Riku led her through the Mysterious Tower towards a sitting area. She had been to the Tower once, when everything had started going wrong. It was clear the Tower was more lived-in than before. Despite not running into anyone, it was obvious this place was a temporary home to a chosen few. Aqua hoped she could find her boys’ home once more. But first, she had to find _her_ home. Terra and Ven.

A few thoughts started to run through her head as she approached the sitting area. Would she see herself in Sora, as she sees Terra in Riku? What if she saw Ven instead? Now that she thought about it, she didn’t even know how old Sora and Riku were. How much had they been through in their short years?

They had reached the doorway when they heard it. _Laughter_. The kind of laughter that can only be made with a kind and clear heart.

“Cut it out Kairi! You’re gonna make me lose!” She heard a boy say, laughing as a young girl attempted to fight back. “Never!” Her heart didn’t feel so heavy anymore.

She looked to Riku and found a content smile on his face, all traces of worry gone for the first time since she woke up. _Ah, this is his family, then._ Just as Terra and Ven are hers. Aqua took a deep breath, and stepped through.

The red headed girl was the first one to pause and notice her. She supposed it made sense, considering the spark of a connection they both felt. It was clear to her now, who her successor is. A strong girl with a heart filled of pure light. She couldn’t be prouder. She remembered the girl from her past, and she remembered a name. _Kairi._

All of that ran through her head in seconds. Sora noticed her a few seconds later, after Kairi gave up fighting him to turn towards her. Aqua’s breath caught when their eyes met, reminiscent of how she had reacted seeing Riku. His heart was filled with light in a way she had never seen before. It had darkness within it, not as much as Riku’s or as little as Kairi’s, but it was the way the light surrounded that darkness; unmovable and strong in its defiance to give in.

For some reason, it reminded her of Ventus.

It made her start crying again.

She quickly tried to rein in her tears but it didn’t help that Sora was standing there, looking like a sad puppy who felt bad for making their owner upset. “Um. Can I help you?” Sora asked, hands fidgeting and his eyes flicking between herself and Riku, a clear _‘what do we do’_ aura in them.

Riku handed her another tissue and went to Sora, leaving her a mess and with the question of _‘where does he keep getting tissues from?’_. Kairi took this time to walk up to her, somehow seeming both hesitant and confident in her steps. “I’m sure this is a lot all at once. Is there anything I can do to help?”

 _Light bless her, she’s so sweet._ She coughed and wiped her tears, offering a smile. “No, it’s okay, I’m okay. I don't even know why I started crying.” That was a lie, but she was trying to play it cool, dammit. She was supposed to be the adult here. “Um, you’re Kairi right? I don’t know if you remember me.” 

Kairi’s eyes lit up, her heart trying to remember a time before Destiny Islands. She put her hand to her chest and tilted her head slightly. “I don’t remember us meeting, I’m sorry. But, for some reason, I feel like I should be offering you flowers.” Aqua smiled a little, glad to see the girl’s light was still as bright as before. “Oh wait! Here!” Kairi said, as she pulled out her keyblade Destiny's Embrace. “Does this work?”

Aqua laughed in response, her grin growing warm. “Yes, I think it does.”

It was at this point Aqua realized Riku was sliding out of the room, signaling for Kairi to join him. Kairi quickly got the memo and said goodbye to the other women.

“I really hope I get to talk to you more, Aqua. I think we’d make a good team.” Kairi said, slightly bowing her head forward while smiling with excitement. She was glad to have a female mentor around.

Aqua bowed her head back, surprising the younger girl, and replied “I look forward to it. I see now that it was fate that had me protect you all those years ago.” Kairi’s eyes sparkled as she grinned, clearly wanting to hear more about her past, but left with Riku who nodded his goodbye as well.

All that left was Sora.

It was obvious that Sora was unsure how to approach her, but that didn’t seem to stop him at all. He quickly bounced over to her, clearly excited but leaving her enough breathing room. He had a huge smile on his face, his eyes wide and crinkling with joy. “Hello! I’m Sora! It’s nice to meet you again.”

Aqua quickly learned how impossible it is to have a heavy heart around the boy.

She hid her quiet laugh behind her hand and shook hands with the other. “It’s nice to meet you again too, Sora. You’ve grown so tall and strong since I last saw you!”

The brunette suddenly striked a pose, arms flexing and knees bent. It felt like he was imitating a friend of theirs. “Of course I have! I’ll keep getting stronger and be the next Keyblade Master too, I just know it!” His heart darkened a little for a second, though his smile never wavered. It was clear that even if the past events had hurt him, he was still powering through. For both himself, and his friends. 

That reminded her of Ventus as well. 

Aqua caught herself staring for too long and made eye contact with the boy, realizing he caught her as well. “Is something wrong?” He asked her.

“No. I just… You remind me of a friend of mine.”

Sora tensed, but that didn’t feel like the correct response to what she had just said. Why would he tense? So she asked him what was wrong.

“Well, you see. How do I explain this.” He mumbled to himself. “Ah, I got it! You have the power to see hearts, right?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Can you look at mine? And not just at the surface, but deeper.” Sora requested.

She wasn’t sure why that was being requested of her, but she complied anyway. It felt wrong to ignore a genuine request from her successor. She answered an affirmative and Sora shifted into a more relaxed position.

At first, she just felt around the surface level. Joy. Love. A little anxiety. It all screamed Sora to her, but she kept looking. A little deeper and she almost felt as if she was outside the house of a hoarder, about to step into a place packed with more than should be there. She was apprehensive, but she knew she had to keep going. She pushed a little deeper inside his heart.

Oh.

Sora’s heart was full, that was for sure, but it wasn’t just filled with his thoughts and emotions, but-

1\. _2? **3.**_

There were three other hearts inside of his.

She went around to each one specifically. First, there was one who felt a lot like Sora, but was clearly still their own heart. She could feel the defiance radiating off of it, but also the acceptance. It seemed to have made peace its fate.

The second _(?)_ heart was nearly impossible to get a grasp on. It was almost like Aqua knew it was there, and could see it, but could not feel it. But it also seemed to have accepted its fate, and for that Aqua was sad.

And the third-

She knew immediately who the third one was. It was strong, it was kind, and it felt brave. She felt it reaching for her own heart and before she could stop herself she reached back. They stretched and pulled, but there was clearly something in the way, blocking them from each other. She pulled back when she saw Sora start coughing, leaning over and rubbing his hand on his chest. _‘Soon, Ven.’_ She soothed to his heart.

She came back to herself and knelt to look at Sora’s face. “I’m so sorry, are you all right?”

Sora still smiled and tried to reassure her despite the strange ache in his heart. The only other time he felt anything like that was when Axel died. “It’s okay! I can’t control what they do anyway.” He said with a subdued laugh. He got up and plopped himself onto the couch, leaving a spot for Aqua as well. Always the gentleman. 

Aqua slowly stood up and wandered over to the couch. She sat and tried to organize her thoughts. Not only was Sora holding a heart that was not his own, he was holding _three_ of them. And one of them was Ven.

“You, um” She started saying, shifting the younger’s attention back towards her, “you’ve been protecting Ven’s heart? All this time?” She said in disbelief.

Sora nodded, and offered in response, “My heart has become a sort of sanctuary, for those who are lost.” Sora grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes. She almost felt as if _he_ was looking into _her_ heart this time. “We’ll get him back, I promise. And not just him but all the others in my heart, and Terra too!” He offered her his genuine bright smile.

Even if he didn’t know it, Sora was the cause of Aqua’s growing hope once more.

Aqua squeezed his hand in agreeance. “Together.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This originally started as a fic for a friend but kind of spiraled from the original prompt, sorry! I hope everyone reading this is doing well.
> 
> If you find any mistakes or any concepts I just completely messed up let me know! Thank you for reading.
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/_noctls)   
>  [Tumblr](https://desmondmlles.tumblr.com)


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